Computer and network systems such as data storage systems, server systems, cloud storage systems, personal computers, and workstations, typically include data storage devices for storing and retrieving data. These data storage devices can include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state storage devices (SSDs), tape storage devices, optical storage devices, hybrid storage devices that include both rotating and solid state data storage elements, and other mass storage devices.
As computer systems and networks grow in numbers and capability, there is a need for ever increasing storage capacity. Data centers, cloud computing facilities, and other at-scale data processing systems have further increased the need for digital data storage systems capable of transferring and holding immense amounts of data. Data centers can house this large quantity of data storage devices in various rack-mounted and high-density storage configurations.
While densities and workloads for the data storage devices increase, any individual data enclosures can experience higher power dissipation which can lead to greater heat generation and potential data loss as well as contribute to increased costs for cooling of data center facilities. Some power saving measures have been included in many data storage devices, such as low power operation, idle modes, and other power management schemes. However, these schemes fail to offer host systems much control over the various detailed operations of the data storage device. Moreover, when many storage devices are included in a storage system, each storage device can have inherent variations between each storage device, which can lead to decreased ability to predict the operation of the storage devices.